Jepsen won’t run for re-election as AG, focus turns to Tong

By Neil Vigdor

Updated 4:48 pm, Monday, November 27, 2017

Photo: Jacquelyn Martin / Associated Press File

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Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen speaks at the Justice Department in Washington in 2013. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, Jepsen and 45 of his colleagues sought to expand a federal antitrust lawsuit against generic drugmakers to include more manufacturers and medications, as well as senior executives at two companies. less

Connecticut Attorney General George Jepsen speaks at the Justice Department in Washington in 2013. On Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2017, Jepsen and 45 of his colleagues sought to expand a federal antitrust lawsuit against ... more

Attorney, former secretary of the state and Middletown native Susan Bysiewicz

Attorney, former secretary of the state and Middletown native Susan Bysiewicz

Photo: / Digital First Media

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Chris Mattei speaks to the Democratic Town Committee in Windsor.

Chris Mattei speaks to the Democratic Town Committee in Windsor.

Photo: Ctnewsjunkie File Photo / Ctnewsjunkie File Photo

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(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register) ¬ Dale Kroop, Hamden Director of Economic and Community Development, left, and State Representative Michael C. D'Agostino, D-71 of Hamden discuss the $600,00state grant for the abatement and demolition of a portion of the Michael J. Whalen school building while standing at that was the former Hamden Middle School building on 560 Newhall Street inHamden to prepare the site for a private mixed-use redevelopment Thursday, February 23, 2017 less

(Peter Hvizdak - New Haven Register) ¬ Dale Kroop, Hamden Director of Economic and Community Development, left, and State Representative Michael C. D'Agostino, D-71 of Hamden discuss the $600,00state grant for ... more

To “lawyer-up” has taken on a new context for the power-hungry in Connecticut, now that Democrat George Jepsen isn’t running for re-election as state attorney general.

The second-term incumbent, part of a Trump resistance in the courts over immigration and environmental policies, stunned political allies and foes Monday by ruling himself out of the 2018 race. The one-time Stamford resident and former state Senate majority leader, who followed the ubiquitous Richard Blumenthal as attorney general in 2010 and is a neighbor of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, gave no prior indication that he planned to leave office.

“While my love for the work of this office is undiminished, I am ready to pursue different challenges,” Jepsen said. “I do so knowing that the men and women of the office of the attorney general will continue to serve and protect our state and its residents with distinction. I do not yet know what my future holds, but look forward to advancing the interests of Connecticut for the remainder of my term and in other capacities.”

Jepsen’s decision gives those who might otherwise run for governor an attractive alternative. Among them is state Rep. William Tong, D-Stamford, co-chairman of the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee, who is expected to form an exploratory committee for statewide office as soon as Tuesday.

“George is the finest attorney general in the country, protecting homeowners against large national banks in the middle of the mortgage crisis, leading a coalition of states in prosecuting antitrust claims against generic drug manufacturers, and fighting for Connecticut students and families threatened by the president’s action to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program,” Tong said. “Whether as a state representative, state senator and Senate majority leader from Stamford, and now as Attorney General, George has given his life to pursue justice for all of us, and protect and defend Connecticut’s families when we need him most.”

Tong has long eyed higher office, running unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2012 and for mayor of his home city, the third-largest in the state, in 2013.

In contrast to other constitutional and legislative offices, there’s a minimum requirement of 10 years of law practice to become attorney general. It’s known informally as the Bysiewicz rule, after the state Supreme Court ruled Democrat Susan Bysiewicz ineligible to run for AG in 2010. At the time, Bysiewicz was secretary of the state. Bysiewicz’s name is also being bandied about as a potential contender for attorney general. A request for comment was left Monday for the Middletown lawyer, who is already exploring a run for state Senate.

Another Democrat to watch is Chris Mattei, a former federal prosecutor who won a conviction for campaign fraud against former Gov. John G. Rowland. The political newcomer, who has been exploring a run for governor, sidestepped the subject in a statement Monday.

“Although his decision may fuel speculation among some, today is a day to honor George's service,” Mattei said in a statement. “He is someone who I have often gone to for counsel and advice, and he has never let me down.”

State Rep. Mike D’Agostino, D-Hamden, was making calls to Democrats Monday to gauge their support for a bid for attorney general, Hearst Connecticut Media has learned.

Ted Kennedy Jr., the second-term state senator from Branford who passed on the governor’s race, isn’t biting on AG, a source close to Kennedy told Hearst.

GOP bull’s-eye on Ganim

One of the first lessons of Campaign 101 is to define your opponent before he or she can define you.

The Connecticut GOP is wasting no time cutting into Joe Ganim, characterizing the comeback mayor of Bridgeport as the man to beat in the Democratic gubernatorial field in a recent email blast to Republicans across the state. The subject line: “Crooked Democrat frontrunner.”

“With Dan Malloy’s Top Enabler Nancy Wyman announcing that she will not enter the race to succeed him in 2018, Democrats have their sights set on a new frontrunner: convicted felon Joe Ganim,” the email’s opening line read.

Ganim, who reclaimed the mayor’s office in the state’s largest city in 2015 after serving seven years in prison for public corruption, is expected to join the governor’s race in January. He compared the GOP’s barbs to those of his Democratic mayoral primary foe, Bill Finch, the vanquished incumbent.

“They tried to take a page out of the Finch book,” Ganim said in a recent interview. “Obviously, they don’t realize it doesn’t work anymore.”

Nothing to declare

A trio of upcoming debates in the governor’s race pose minefields for Democrats and Republicans, not in the Nixon/Kennedy way, but from a compliance standpoint under Connecticut’s clean-election law.

Each debate is billing itself as a showcase for gubernatorial candidates, but only one includes a disclaimer that its forum includes those who are still in the exploratory phase of the race.

Declared candidates are subject to stricter rules on how much they spend and how much they can raise from individual contributors ($100) as part of the state’s public campaign financing system. One way to avoid that is by forming an exploratory committee, as a record number of Republicans and Democrats have done.

Some say that’s where the lines can get blurred, especially for those who have indicated a specific race to supporters in fundraising letters — and for those who participate in a gubernatorial debate. That can lead to election complaints.

Let’s talk turkey

In the middle of their tryptophan-induced food coma, folks on Dan Drew’s email list received what appeared to be a rather innocuous Thanksgiving greeting from the gubernatorial candidate.

“My family and I would like to wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving,” the Democratic Middletown mayor wrote. “This is one of our favorite seasons because it's a wonderful moment to spend time with those we love. It's a time to remind us and appreciate the blessings we have, and we have so much to be thankful for this year.”